


Baby Bogeyman

by orphan_account



Series: The Story of Oogie Boogie [1]
Category: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Genre: Babies, Baby Oogie Boogie, F/M, Fluff, Jack and Sally ships, Sibling Bonding, cuteness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:34:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22308010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A very different ending to TNBC. Inspired by a fanart I found. (I'm sorry, I can't find it anymore, but if you see it, you'll know what it is and I don't take credit for it.)
Relationships: Lock/Shock (Nightmare Before Christmas), Sally/Jack Skellington
Series: The Story of Oogie Boogie [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1605694
Kudos: 18





	Baby Bogeyman

**Author's Note:**

> Like most of my fics, this is pretending that none of the video games happened, and that this is only written using the original nightmare before christmas. And please, if I am writing a character wrong or cringily, please comment on ways I could make it better because I get really annoyed if I write things wrong.

Jack stared up in disgust at the vile burlap sack. After all the mercy Jack had shown him, all the chances he had been given, this was how Oogie Boogie was repaying him?! Eating his friends?! All pity left him as the bogeyman laughed, thinking he was about to get away, drowning in his own self-centeredness. “How dare you treat my friends with this much disrespect?!” Jack hissed, grabbing a loose thread on the bogeyman’s arm. 

The sack-man’s eye-holes widened, no doubt knowing what was about to happen. Without a moment’s hesitation, Jack yanked on the string and Oogie Boogie started to unravel. Oogie whimpered as his arm started to fall apart, and he desperately tried to hold himself together. His whines soon grew to a full-on howl of pain as his burlap skin caught on a spinning knife and his body was torn from him, revealing a mass of bugs and spiders. “Now look what you’ve done!” Oogie Boogie roared, shaking a squirming fist at them. “My bugs!” he howled, “My bugs! My bugs!” his voice started to sound like several different voices, screaming in a demonic fashion. “My bugsssss ...my…bugs……” and he was silent.

Jack saw that Sally had been watching with horror and Jack felt a twinge of pity for her. “I n-never wanted him dead.” she whispered, and Sandy Claws put a hand on her cloth shoulder comfortingly. 

As Jack looked at the fat, old man, he felt another twinge from somewhere in his bone body. He felt guilty. He had taken this man’s holiday-and-heck! He had stolen this man! All for his own ambition, never thinking about what harm it might cause to others. “Forgive me mister Claws,” he said as Sandy stomped on a nearby bug. “I’m afraid that I have made a terrible mess of your holiday.” Sandy Claws snorted, “bumpy sleigh ride, Jack?” he growled, clearly more than a little annoyed at Jack’s idea of stealing Christmas. Jack held out the fluffy red hat that he had taken, and Sandy swiped it, angrily donning it himself. “The next time you get the urge to take over someone else’s holiday, I’d listen to her!” and he pointed a gloved finger at Sally who was crouched over by the cloth pieces. “She’s the only one who makes any sense in this insane asylum! Skeletons…” he muttered, stalking (well, waddling with an air) past Jack. “I hope there’s still time!” Jack called apologetically after him. “To fix Christmas?” Sandy said, whirling around. “Of course there is! I’m Santa Claus!” and with that, he flew up and out of Oogie Boogie’s lair, leaving Jack and Sally by themselves. 

“Well, I really made a mess of things,” Jack said sheepishly running a hand over his skull. “I owe my apologies to yo-what are you doing?’’ he crouched next to Sally, who was staring at the tattered remains of Oogie Boogie with interest. “Look!’’ she whispered, pointing to a small piece of fabric that several bugs were trying to get into. “It looks like they are trying to bring him back!”  
“Well, they can’t do much,” said Jack, brushing the snake-tongue away from him, “there are only little pieces left. Someone would have to sew him completely together.” “Don’t you think…?” Sally said, and Jack knew what she was referring to. “Don’t worry, I won’t let Lock, Shock, and Barrel near his remains until the rest of time.” he placed a hand on Sally’s back and she relaxed. 

They stayed in silence for a minute, until a new sound rose above the clicking feet of insects. They both perked up in interest and searched for the source of the noise. It was a little, gurgling cry, sometimes rising to a hiccuping sob. It took a few minutes to find, as the echoing quality of Oogie Boogie’s casino didn’t help when it came to locating sounds. It was Sally who let out a little gasp, alerting Jack who came over to her. 

“What is it?” he inquired, “Is it some corpse or werewolf child that he kidnapped? It sure sounded like a baby, and I could easily see Oogie Boogie getting his henchman to steal a child and fattening it up for later.” “Well,” Sally said hesitantly, “It-it is a child, but...not one from the town.” Jack felt a chill go up his spine. “He stole a child from the human world?!” he spat, clenching his fists. Sally gasped, “NoNoNoNoNo! Not a human child!” Jack relaxed, but felt confused. “So, if it’s a child but not a human child or one from Halloweentown, what is it?’’

Sally leaned down to Oogie’s remains and stuck her hand in the burlap folds. Jack winced. Though he lived in a realm of the dead, it was still considered gross to dig around in deceased bodies. “I mean, he didn’t show respect, we should show respect for the passed anyways,” he started, but when he saw what Sally was holding, he felt his jawbone drop. ‘‘Oh sh-”

Lock, Shock, and Barrel ran back to their treehouse with the Mayor and several other citizens on their tails. (Well, Lock was the only one with a tail but that was besides the point.) When Jack had gone into Oogie Boogie’s lair, they had known who would win. They felt guilty about abandoning their leader, but knew that if they brought the town to Jack and Sally to help them get out, they might not get such a bad punishment. 

“Here!” they panted, stopping at the twisty tree they called home. “Jack! Jack!” the Mayor cried, peering into Oogie Boogie’s casino with a giant flashlight. “Here he is!” ”Alive!” ”Just like we said!” cried the three trick-or-treaters, putting on feigned glee, but innerly mourning their master. “Grab ahold, my boy!” shouted the Mayor, throwing down a rope made of bones. They all scooted back to allow the Pumpkin King, Sally, and Zero to climb up and out. 

Only Lock, Shock, and Barrel noticed that they were each holding something in their hands and Zero, in his mouth. They shared a glance, all suspecting that they had stolen their belongings. “What is that!” snapped Shock, being the most brave and snippy of the lot, staring up at Sally with a glare.

“Oi!” Jack growled, poking her in the chest. “You have no right to yell at her! Especially after the trouble you have caused!” “Jack,” Sally said quietly, laying a hand on Jack’s shoulder. And much to the children’s surprise, said, “Jack, they do have a right to know.” The Pumpkin King sighed, casting a look at the trick-or-treaters. “You’re right, Sally.”

Jack kneeled down to the kids’ level, a soft expression on his face. The children felt uncomfortable in this caring situation, since they never had been talked to like they were actually children. 

Jack sighed again. “Kids...Oogie Boogie is dead.” They grunted. “We know.” “Oh, okay.” he said, a bit unsettled at the bluntness in their answer. “But, um. He didn’t...actually die.” he said. Shock raised an eyebrow while the two boys took a minute to get what he had said. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she sniffed, but actually felt confused and more than a bit unsettled. “Um,” Jack hesitated. “Look, why don’t I just show you? Would you be okay with that?’’ and the children nodded, still feeling a bit unsure.

What Jack produced made their jaws drop. “W-what?” Lock said, staring at the small being in Jack’s hand. It appeared to be a tiny scrap of burlap cloth, nothing more. But if you look closer, you could see that it was actually taking breaths. The small piece of cloth suddenly wriggled to life and stared up at the children with familiar, yet noticeably more adorable, eye-holes .It gurgled, reaching up little, cloth hands towards their masked faces.”Is-is that…?” Barrel asked Jack with wide eyes, and Jack shrugged. “Well, this little guy was in Oogie Boogie’s remains, filled with the old bugs. Same as the others.” “Wait, others?!” they all cried simultaneously. Jack chuckled, at their amazed faces.. “Yes, this little guy is one of five.”

They whirled around to Sally, who was carrying three others in her arms, and Zero, who was holding one by the leg in his mouth. “Whoa..” Lock breathed. “I never thought of Mr. Oogie Boogie as a baby before.” “Yeah!” Shock said, “he’s actually...kinda cute. In a weird, monster-y way, anyway”

Sally nodded, and started to agree, but one of the babies started to cry for an unknown reason, making the others take up the scream too. “Aaaargh! Make it stop!” Shock whined, and the boys nodded in agreement. Sally tried to hush the wailing little creatures, but they merely screeched louder, pounding their little feet in anger. The rag-doll noticed that they seemed to be reaching for the trick-or-treaters, and she wondered if they recognized their former henchman from when they were Oogie Boogie. 

Though all of her instincts told her not to trust the crazy children with such young beings, she knew she had no choice. “Lock, Shock, Barrel,” she called, “Come over here.” the kids shared a glance and approached warily, hands over their ears. Sally pulled a howling little monster from her arm and held it out to Shock. The little witch flinched away, clearly not wanting to be associated with the tiny creature, but after a moment, her loyalties to her master seemed to take over her, no matter how small he was now, amd she picked him up in her palm. 

The mini-boogeyman immediately calmed, burbling cheerfully up at her. Oh! He was very tiny! He fit right in the palm of her hand like a caramel apple. It rolled over onto its back and snuffled around, finally falling still as it found a comfortable position. Shock slowly stroked his back, and it let out a little sigh. She had never been one of those girls who would like to play with dolls (if she ever found one, she usually ended up stuffing sticks through its eyes and pulling out the stuffing), but just this once she felt a little bit of a pull to her more caring side, and making sure that she was holding him comfortably.

Sally held out the other babies towards Lock and Barrel, but they shied away. Shock kicked up a pile of dead leaves at them, shooting them a death glare. “Take our boss,” she hissed, “If he finds out that we wouldn’t help him in this state, do you know how mad he might be?” “uh, I guess,” Lock muttered, picking up a bogeyman in a hand. It immediately curled up and fell silent, and he took another one with a bit more enthusiasm. The Pumpkin King let his smile slip as a sudden thought struck him. Where would he keep such tiny things? He couldn’t kill a baby, no matter how evil they may have been before. 

Turning to Sally, he muttered, “What will we do? I don’t doubt the kids loyalty to their former master, but I don’t think we should leave the babies with them. They are children, after all.” Sally nodded agreement. “Why don’t we keep them?” she smiled. “I would like to have an excuse for not taking care of Dr. Finklestein anymore. I’m sure he would be okay if I watched the babies instead.” “Are-are you sure?” Jack asked, delighted, “Something tells me that they will be a lot to handle!” “Jack,” Sally said quietly, staring into his eyes. “I’ll be fine.” As they stared into their eyes, something seemed to pull them in. They slowly bent together, and their hearts started to beat faster, and faster. We’re simply meant to be… As their lips were almost touching, Shock burst in, “So, what do we do now?”


End file.
